In Xiang Nan's perception, the blond, power‑built man was unquestionably the strongest of the three.
That also meant the man was very likely the highest‑ranked "player" in the current world.
When the system shut down, everyone's combat power froze at that very moment.
What puzzled Xiang Nan was that, even though this was the top fighter in the Hunter × Hunter world, the man's level had been stuck at Extinction 8 with almost no fluctuation.
"Let's go!"
Surrounded on three sides, Xiang Nan's first move was to leap backward.
He then heard a playful shout.
Hovering in mid‑air was an angelic figure that looked like a bunny‑girl, holding up a placard as she zipped over his head.
It was a physical manifestation of the opponent's Nen ability. Xiang Nan had no idea what that ability did yet, so he stayed alert while exchanging blows.
The trio's onslaught arrived: fists and kicks flooded every inch of space around Xiang Nan, leaving no gap at all.
He dodged as hard as he could, but the attackers were viciously experienced; several strikes still landed. Fortunately, using Nen techniques, he shielded his vitals, so the hits were never fatal.
Crack!
As he retreated, Xiang Nan suddenly slammed into an invisible wall. He stalled for a split second—
Boom!
As though anticipating this, the blond man burst out laughing and smashed a Nen‑coated fist square into Xiang Nan's upper arm.
Xiang Nan had raised that arm to block, yet the man's knuckles still grazed his cheek. He wasn't hurt, but the bunny‑girl overhead cried out, "Good job—one point for you!"
The number on her placard flipped from 0 to 1.
Xiang Nan's eyes narrowed. He slashed with his scalpel to force back a teammate who was flanking from the left, then, with the space slightly widened, triple‑jumped and flashed twenty meters away.
"He really is scary… Even against the three of us, his Nen control and technique are airtight. His aura flows so quickly—monstrous."
The player with ear studs swallowed hard, eyeing Xiang Nan warily.
"Otherwise, why call him a monster?"
The blond man blew on his knuckles and stared at Xiang Nan in excitement. Taking down a so‑called "genius" clearly thrilled him.
Xiang Nan ignored their talk. Out of the corner of his eye he studied the isolated space they were in. Visually it looked identical to the outside world, as though continuous with the environment, but in truth the scene around them was more like a single painted canvas skillfully joined together. The real arena was only about fifty meters across.
The three were obviously familiar with this domain, and the blond man had guessed Xiang Nan wouldn't notice the trap at first—earning him that first point.
A point‑scoring Nen ability… I don't know the exact effect, but letting him stack points will definitely be trouble…
Xiang Nan glanced again at the bunny‑girl. Moments earlier he had actually flicked a throwing knife and hit the tiny creature dead on—yet it did nothing.
…
A brief lull—then the three charged again.
Xiang Nan decided to stop observing. The blond man's Nen ability looked exotic and dangerous; he couldn't allow more "points."
The blond brawler lunged in front. Xiang Nan darted between the flurry of fists for a heartbeat, then struck without warning. His counter‑slash was vicious: despite the three‑on‑one, the blond man couldn't avoid it and a cut opened on his arm, splattering blood.
The blond man's eyelid twitched. Even while attacking he had kept a Nen guard on his body—yet Xiang Nan still sliced through it with ease. That shocked him.
He pulled back, but Xiang Nan ghosted past the other two and lunged straight at him, the scalpel stained with his blood now hurtling toward his right eye—
"Marco!"
The blond man bellowed. At once his teammate—Marco—activated a Nen ability: a huge repulsive force flung Xiang Nan away.
Even so, Xiang Nan twisted in mid‑air and landed smoothly, unharmed.
The blond man had narrowly escaped death; his face turned pale.
"This guy…"
The other two were aghast. Xiang Nan had switched from defense to all‑out offense, and his power felt completely different.
Their attempts to intercept him had almost failed—he'd come within a breath of killing the blond.
Xiang Nan's gaze locked onto Marco, who was holding a strange magnet. He smiled, plucked a metal button from his own shirt, and flicked it away.
Marco's pupils shrank. His Nen ability let him swap magnetic poles on his magnet and "hide" the opposite pole on a target—provided he could make brief physical contact. He had stealthily done so during the skirmish.
How did Xiang Nan notice?
Worse, his ability couldn't be spammed: each target could house only one hidden pole. Xiang Nan had dozens of buttons—yet instantly found the right one?
If he hadn't… Marco had planned to disrupt Xiang Nan's attacks or defenses, yanking his position around so the others could land a killing blow.
Now the ability was useless.
Without a word, Xiang Nan unleashed his own Nen: "Hands of Love."
He diagnosed the blond man with a "disease." At once the cut on the man's arm gushed blood, as though a major artery had been severed.
Before the blond could react, the ear‑stud player slapped a cloth doll against him. The abnormal bleeding stopped instantly.
Xiang Nan's eyes narrowed.
"Surprised?" the blond sneered, trying to regain face. "We've planned a long time to kill you. We know your Nen inside out."
The Stalin Family's rise had been recent; clearly they'd laid this trap well in advance. Xiang Nan suddenly understood: right after he became a Hunter and met Pariston, that scheming rat had probably started preparing all this. These three were merely chess pieces.
"A Stand?"
He recognized the ear‑stud man's doll as some sort of stand that negated damage or status effects, though the exact mechanics still needed analysis.
But Xiang Nan stopped over‑thinking. One basic grasp of each power was enough for him. He even suspected he had already figured out the blond man's point‑scoring bunny‑girl.
"No wonder you've slaughtered so many talented players—terrain control, support, recovery, and a lethal point‑system finisher all in one…" Xiang Nan chuckled.
"Hmph. Since you've seen through it, you should realize there's only one end for you—death right here," the blond said, rolling his shoulders, trying to shake Xiang Nan's confidence. His Nen could kill outright once he reached ten points, ignoring power gaps—though if he failed, the backlash was horrific. Has Xiang Nan noticed that drawback?
"Honestly, I'm not interested in you."
Xiang Nan suddenly loosened up. "You're too simple. Decent strength, sure—but you're just tools Pariston uses to annoy me. Ever think he knew you'd come? That you'd be the ones to die? That he even predicted I'd deduce his meddling through you?"
"Still mouthing off!" the ear‑stud man snarled.
"Enough. I'll pry open your skulls myself and take a look."
Xiang Nan's face turned cold. He bent forward, crimson light flickering in his eyes. Twin scalpels spun between his fingers in a daring flourish.
"Come on—let's keep playing."
The trio's expressions changed drastically.
Because the man before them had changed again—and this time the change wasn't just in fighting style but an overwhelming surge of raw power. Nen poured from him like molten lava, laced with murderous intent and psychic pressure that flooded the entire space. Under that weight, the three felt their own Nen and willpower crumble.
All they saw now was a pitch‑black abyss in human shape.
Even after years hunting genius players, they had never felt such oppression.
"Is… this his true strength?"
"Was he toying with us before?"
The blond man's mind went blank. In that instant he felt as though… he had already died.